On Descriptive Complexity, Language Complexity, and GB

We introduce $L^2_{K,P}$, a monadic second-order language for reasoning about trees which characterizes the strongly Context-Free Languages in the sense that a set of finite trees is definable in $L^2_{K,P}$ iff it is (modulo a projection) a Local Set---the set of derivation trees generated by a CFG. This provides a flexible approach to establishing language-theoretic complexity results for formalisms that are based on systems of well-formedness constraints on trees. We demonstrate this technique by sketching two such results for Government and Binding Theory. First, we show that {\em free-indexation\/}, the mechanism assumed to mediate a variety of agreement and binding relationships in GB, is not definable in $L^2_{K,P}$ and therefore not enforcible by CFGs. Second, we show how, in spite of this limitation, a reasonably complete GB account of English can be defined in $L^2_{K,P}$. Consequently, the language licensed by that account is strongly context-free. We illustrate some of the issues involved in establishing this result by looking at the definition, in $L^2_{K,P}$, of chains. The limitations of this definition provide some insight into the types of natural linguistic principles that correspond to higher levels of language complexity. We close with some speculation on the possible significance of these results for generative linguistics.Comment: To appear in Specifying Syntactic Structures, papers from the Logic, Structures, and Syntax workshop, Amsterdam, Sept. 1994. LaTeX source with nine included postscript figure

Dynamic Complexity Meets Parameterised Algorithms

Dynamic Complexity studies the maintainability of queries with logical formulas in a setting where the underlying structure or database changes over time. Most often, these formulas are from first-order logic, giving rise to the dynamic complexity class DynFO. This paper investigates extensions of DynFO in the spirit of parameterised algorithms. In this setting structures come with a parameter k and the extensions allow additional "space" of size f(k) (in the form of an additional structure of this size) or additional time f(k) (in the form of iterations of formulas) or both. The resulting classes are compared with their non-dynamic counterparts and other classes. The main part of the paper explores the applicability of methods for parameterised algorithms to this setting through case studies for various well-known parameterised problems

A Descriptive Study of the Shift of Roles Between a Teacher and Students in English Classroom Discourse

This study was aimed to figure out the exchange patterns during classroom interaction and its relation to the shift of roles of serving primary knower between a teacher and students. Thirty nine students of twelfth grade and an English teacher in a public senior high school in Bandung were involved as the participants. This study employed a descriptive-qualitative method, and the main data were classroom observation transcript and teacher's interview transcript. The data analysis was done by applying classroom discourse analysis through coding and categorizing utterances of teacher and students into exchange categories proposed by Suherdi (2009). The findings reveal that both Non-Anomalous (Knowledge-Oriented and Action-Oriented) and Anomalous Exchanges (Elliptical, Defective, and Broken) were found in the interaction between the teacher and the students, therefore the exchange categories affect the shift of roles of serving primary knower between teacher and students. With regard to the findings, two exchanges were likely to be dominant among other exchanges throughout four meetings of the lesson; those are DK1-initiated exchanges (30.19%) and A1-initiated exchanges (34.57%)

The Dynamic of Cheating: Descriptive Study of Intention to Cheat

Cheating is strongly related to other unethical behaviors. It happens everywhere, including in universities. College students, ideally, should be prevented from cheating to minimize the potential of conducting unethical behaviors in the future. To design effective intervention, examining the cause of cheating is absolutely necessary. Cheating, like any other behavior, can be predicted by knowing its intention and the components of intention using the Theory of Planned Behavior. The present study explained the intention to cheat while studying in university along with its determinants and beliefs. The present study obtained data using online questionnaire based on the Theory of Planned Behavior to 233 participants. Regression analysis was performed to describe the significance level of each determinant and belief. The result showed that the determinant which had significant influence toward intention to cheat was attitude toward behavior (p = 0.00; β = 0.769; t = 15.620). The most significant belief in that determinant was “cheating during learning in university can help one earning good grade without studying hard”. Therefore, present study can be used as a basis to design interventions to reduce intention to cheat in university students

Dynamic Complexity of Planar 3-connected Graph Isomorphism

Dynamic Complexity (as introduced by Patnaik and Immerman) tries to express how hard it is to update the solution to a problem when the input is changed slightly. It considers the changes required to some stored data structure (possibly a massive database) as small quantities of data (or a tuple) are inserted or deleted from the database (or a structure over some vocabulary). The main difference from previous notions of dynamic complexity is that instead of treating the update quantitatively by finding the the time/space trade-offs, it tries to consider the update qualitatively, by finding the complexity class in which the update can be expressed (or made). In this setting, DynFO, or Dynamic First-Order, is one of the smallest and the most natural complexity class (since SQL queries can be expressed in First-Order Logic), and contains those problems whose solutions (or the stored data structure from which the solution can be found) can be updated in First-Order Logic when the data structure undergoes small changes. Etessami considered the problem of isomorphism in the dynamic setting, and showed that Tree Isomorphism can be decided in DynFO. In this work, we show that isomorphism of Planar 3-connected graphs can be decided in DynFO+ (which is DynFO with some polynomial precomputation). We maintain a canonical description of 3-connected Planar graphs by maintaining a database which is accessed and modified by First-Order queries when edges are added to or deleted from the graph. We specifically exploit the ideas of Breadth-First Search and Canonical Breadth-First Search to prove the results. We also introduce a novel method for canonizing a 3-connected planar graph in First-Order Logic from Canonical Breadth-First Search Trees

Approximating the Maximum Overlap of Polygons under Translation

Let $P$ and $Q$ be two simple polygons in the plane of total complexity $n$, each of which can be decomposed into at most $k$ convex parts. We present an $(1-\varepsilon)$-approximation algorithm, for finding the translation of $Q$, which maximizes its area of overlap with $P$. Our algorithm runs in $O(c n)$ time, where $c$ is a constant that depends only on $k$ and $\varepsilon$. This suggest that for polygons that are "close" to being convex, the problem can be solved (approximately), in near linear time

Colours, Corners And Complexity

"There is a philosophical question as to what one really sees". Wittgenstein's remark raises all sorts of questions: Does one see tables and chairs, people jumping up and down, their jumps, their sadness ? Does one see colours and forms, coloured forms, dynamic and static, that are above or to the left of other coloured forms ? If the latter, are these things one sees private entities or public entities as are, presumably, tables and chairs ? If both answers are legitimate (sometimes, or whenever we see ?) what are the relations between the people we see and the coloured forms that we also see ? In other words, is what is presented to me in my visual field private, public or partly private and partly public

A descriptive model of managerial effectiveness

This study was designed to help understand what effective managers really do. Unlike previous research on managerial effectiveness, a diverse sample (N = 78) of managers was directly observed in natural settings. These data on managerial activities gathered by trained observers were related to a subordinate-report measure of unit effectiveness. Using canonical correlation analysis, a descriptive model of managerial effectiveness was derived. This one-dimensional model consists of a continuum ranging from a quantity-oriented human resource manager (who was observed to exhibit considerable staffing and motivating or reinforcing activities and was perceived to have quantity performance in the unit) to quality- oriented traditional manager (who was observed to exhibit a lot of interaction with outsiders, controlling and planning activities, and was perceived to have quality performance in the unit). This empirically derived descriptive model helps identify needed managerial activities and skills for quantity and quality performance in today's organizations

Analysis of Javanese Speech Acts in families in Sawit Sebrang subdistrict, Langkat Regency

This study examines Javanese speech acts within the context of the familial environment in Langkat Regency's Sawit Sebrang District, with an emphasis on locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary functions. This study employs qualitative descriptive methods to examine oral conversations with neighbors, family members, and local residents. The results demonstrate the use of a variety of speech acts in various contexts, including discussions of geriatric oil palm plantations and education-related financial issues. Locutionary speech acts are distinguished from illocutionary speech acts by the speaker's intent to convey information and anticipation of a particular response; the former occurs when the speaker merely imparts factual information without any particular intention. Perlocutionary speech acts occur when the utterance has a substantial impact on the behavior of the recipient. This study underscores the significance of cultural awareness, linguistic diversity, and local expressions when attempting to decipher the intended significance of Javanese speech acts. Cultural elements and colloquial language significantly influence the efficacy of communication within the familial setting. An examination of the Sawit Sebrang family's Javanese speech acts offers significant insight into the intricate nature of communication within this particular cultural milieu. Gaining comprehension of these speech acts expands our understanding of communication practices and provides tangible examples of how to implement effective communication strategies.   Keywords:  Speech act, Javanese, Family. &nbsp

Childbirth education : a descriptive investigation

It was the purpose of this study to design and begin the initial phase of the psychological-sociological segment of the Pregnancy Helping System (PHS) as elaborated by the Pregnancy Helping System staff of the Department of Child Development and Family Relations of the School of Home Economics of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. There were two projected outcomes of this pilot study: a) an evaluation of the research tool designed for use in the PHS, the Parental Decision-Making Questionnaire (PDMQ); and b) a description of the potential for further elaboration and functioning of the PHS. A description of the logistics and utilization of, reaction to, and evaluation of childbirth education services extant in Greensboro, North Carolina, as of June, 1973, were seen as forming the basis of the study. Subjects came from three local obstetrical firms and were chosen on the basis of two critieria: a) they needed to be in their eighth or ninth month of pregnancy; and b) they needed to have completed their childbirth education course if they were enrolled in one. Research forms were distributed in the physicians' offices by their receptionists and were either completed there or completed at home and mailed to the researcher in a stamped, self-addressed envelope provided by a co-researcher. There were 13 subjects in the study group